Release Day Steampunk Review: Corroded by Karina Cooper

Corroded by Karina Cooper (The St. Croix Chronicles #3)


Egalley thanks to Carina Press

Synopsis from Goodreads
Hungry for vengeance, Cherry St. Croix is forced to the fog-ridden streets of Victorian London.

My rival, a collector of bounties like myself, has murdered one of my own. In consequence, I have been removed from my house, my staff, and all who would support me. I have nowhere else to turn, so I beg asylum within the Midnight Menagerie, London’s decadent pleasure garden.

Micajah Hawke’s dominance there will not tolerate my presence for long. I am fixated on revenge, but I walk a razor’s edge under his scrutiny His wicked power is not easily ignored, and I must not allow myself to submit—no matter how sweet the sacrifice.

Challenging my rival to a race is the only way to end this, no small task when the quarry is the murderous Jack the Ripper. As my enemies close in, I fear the consequences of this hunt. I am trapped between two killers, and what doesn’t kill me may leave its scars forever.

Amazon kindle US($3.03)/UK(£2.39)

8.5/10

* * *
I always enjoy this gritty, down to earth, fantastic steampunk series, but I admit that book #3 was a bit hard on me.


First half of it is very dark as Cherry succumbs to her opium addiction more and more while unsuccessfully trying to find The Ripper and The Collector, both of whom are detrimental to her mental and material pay off to The Menagerie.

Everything is slow, depressive and kind of stuck until we hit the second half of the book which speeds up and becomes an explosive, shocking and edgy revelation in the end. Whew, me dears, the ending is fabulous!

I can't not mention Micajah Hawke who is shining very brightly in Corroded. Yum, just yum, peeps. He was definitely worth the wait, and I really hope we'll see more and more of him and his magnetic, compelling persona in the future.

Yet again I feel like I desperately need to know what happens next and can't wait t read book #4 in this marvellous series.

One thing is for sure, - this has been the darkest and the most depressing instalment of The St. Croix Chronicles for me personally, and I dearly hope that the reader wouldn't have to go through all this again. It's hard to read about drug dependency, because I went through that sh*t with people close to me, and I know exactly how horrible it can be and how badly it can end.

At the same time I admire imperfect heroines who have to battle their own very real demons while simultaneously taking on the world. Cherry St. Croix is just that type of a heroine with a flawless integrity, and she simply rocks. Recommended to the fans of Downside Ghosts series by Stacia Kane.

* * *
Первая часть книги очень депрессивная и медленная, но... Дама и господа, дождитесь второй части, которая наберёт обороты и закончится потрясающим образом, да так, что жутко захочется узнать, что же дальше?

После смерти мужа для Черри наступают настоящие чёрные дни: она потеряла его из-за преследующего её Коллектора, которого она всё никак не может найти; её свекрови, которая ненавидит невестку, принадлежит вся её собственность, и она не готова с ней из-за этого бодаться; она до сих пор не оплатила свой долг китайской мафии Менажерии; и наконец, её наркотическая зависимость совершенно выходит из под контроля и она проводит все свои дни в дымке, практически без пищи и без воды.

Мне тяжело было это читать, так как я знаю, что такое терять близких из-за наркотиков, и для меня это была самая мрачная и грустная часть серии. Однако вторая часть книги приводит главную линию сюжета к блестящему заключению и заканчивается на новом и совершенно интригующем этапе жизни Черри.

В общем, несмотря на заниженную оценку, многое мне здесь понравилось, и особенно сочетание китайской магии и великолепного Микаджи Хоука, которому автор наконец-то уделила своё время и внимание. Ведь мы, читатели,  так давно на это надеялись! Не переживайте, Хоук здесь просто аховый, и долгое ожидание того стоило. Рекомендую
(ссылки на первую и вторую книгу).

Comments

  1. I'll have to try this series, I have book 1... I think

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  2. Awesome review, I really want to read this one.

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  3. After reading your reviews for the previous books in the series, I've been really eager to try it, but just couldn't get into Tarnished at all. Yet again though, as I read this review it just made me so curious. Maybe I'll give it another go. :)

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  4. Eeep. I don't think I can read this. It's hard to read someone purposely destroy themselves via drug use. You're a brave reader!

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  5. Oh man. I do want to get this series. I think I'd love it. *sigh* Time, time, time...

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